Curiosity Blog, Sols 4798-4803: Back for More Science
Written by Michelle Minitti, MAHLI Deputy Principal Investigator
Date of the earthworks plan: Friday February 6, 2026
The results of our first visit to the “Nevado Sajama” drilling site were intriguing enough to motivate our return to dive deeper into the minerals and compounds locked within this rock with SAM (the Mars Sample Analysis Instrument Suite). As explained in the last blog, this deeper analysis involves using the second of two vials of a chemical reagent, tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH), which helps make molecules detectable by SAM that would otherwise be undetectable. This week focused on completing the many carefully coordinated steps to apply TMAH reagent to rock powder from a borehole and then analyze the processed sample. As you can see in the image above, we know that the drilling required to collect the sample was successful, as was the delivery of the sample to SAM. We await news of the first part of the SAM analysis and execute the second part in the weekend plan.
As you can imagine, remotely conducting a mass spectrometer and chemical experiment on another planet requires a lot of energy, but throughout the week the team took advantage of the available energy to include additional scientific observations. ChemCam planned two attempts to target the interior of the Nevado Sajama2 borehole, analyzed “Tiquipaya,” a family of rocks broken by the rover’s wheels that expose bright white material, and measured atmospheric chemistry with passive sky observation. They also planned a mosaic of RMI layers near the base of the “Mishe Mokwa” mound to the east. MAHLI and APXS have partnered to image and analyze the ground tailings around the borehole to obtain the most direct chemical measurement of what SAM analyzes. Since Mastcam acquired a full 360 degree mosaic the first time we were at Nevado Sajama, they didn’t have many rock observations to plan. Instead, they turned their eyes to the sky to measure how much dust was in the atmosphere. Navcam carried out complementary measurements of atmospheric dust and planned film and imaging studies of clouds and dust devils. Always vigilant, RAD and REMS carried out their regular measurements of the Martian environment while DAN regularly monitored the Martian subsoil.
